Motorsport | MotoGP

No substitute for Spies in Spain

Pramac Ducati has announced that they will not replace Ben Spies for this weekend's Spanish MotoGP at Jerez.

Spies contested the last event in Austin with medical help after suffering nerve pain his chest ahead of the race.

The American underwent tests which revealed that the chest pain was directly connected to his shoulder, which had been operated on at the end of 2012.

It was therefore decided that Spies would need to take some time away from the bike to recover.

But despite losing the 28-year-old, his Parmac Ducati team have opted against putting Ducati test rider Michele Pirro on the bike as that would eat into Spies' engine allocation.

"There will be no substitute rider for Ignite Pramac Racing Team racer Ben Spies, who stayed back home in Texas in order to undergo intensive treatment as he works to regain his physical fitness following the operation to his shoulder and the problem with his pectoral muscle, suffered during the last round, in Austin," read a statement from Pramac Racing.

Pirro, though, will line-up on this weekend's grid as a 'wild-card' rider for the Ducati test team.